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I had a bit to do with him at the bushies.. He is a very very talented prospect, but he's struggled living up there due to leaving his mother all of a sudden who's brought him up single handedly after the sad passing of his father. He was extremely home sick last year.. Probably the closest thing next to a Tom Lynch. Has that huge reach of arms that when given the opportunity and his confidence is up, he will just clunk em all day! Also note that him and Clayton OLIVER are best friends and have been since primary school. I know it's not a factor but if he did come to the Dees then I personally think we'll see the best of him! Trained at the Dees as part of his AIS program too, so Jason Taylor will already have a good insight into him.

Jack was great in that clip with the young supporter. He knows why he's being moved on, but gave a cheeky dig at what he's good at. He loves the Dees, but knows he has no choice. You can't stay if the coach doesn't want you. For all his frustrating traits as a player it's impossible not to love the person. When his career is over he'll be at the G supporting the Dees.

Provoked me to log in for the first time in years. Well done. Tulip went when it was his turn and often when it wasn't, backed into pack marks and was downright courageous. If it wasn't for his smarts he would have been steamrolled every match. I admire JW kicking skills and decision making apart from when the decision is 'don't think I'll go for that' which is too often.

Now you have gone too far.

It was a real toss up for us between Gus and Lever. Club has followed Lever closely since and the JT to Tigers attempt, was purely to get Lever. As we all know the Tiger's Doctor stopped that. We have got our man. The FD are very, very happy.

Jake Lever is an excellent intercept mark and spoiler. With Tom McDonald moving forward, we have been found wanting and Lever will stop 3-4 goals per game. Defensive rotations has left shorter players like Hunt, Jetta and Lewis trying to beat their taller opponents in one on one contests. Having Lever's skill to read the play and intercept is going to make those contests harder for the opposition. Once he has the ball, then the running power of Hunt, Hibberd and rotating midfield combined with the better delivery skills of Salem, Hibberd, Jetta and an improving Oscar McDonald will make the transition from backline to forward entries. This is a very good acquisition for Melbourne. To get an intercept defensive player of his quality from the draft is a lottery, so points equivalent of pick 4 is the right price. How much is stopping 3-4 goals worth?

Much is made of the lacklustre training, his preparation etc. I think thats , in the main , an invention to suit certain narratives He doesnt train like Jones or Viney perhaps but Im not prepared to believe he trained like a nuff nuff etc Watts hasnt fit a type of template that certain coaches ( currently prevailing at Melb ) along with some other FD staff would prefer. Where he was understood and dare I say nurtured, he played and presented very well. When it's all become too hard for some...lets knock him on the head and out with the garbage. Some things have changed at Melbourne ..for sure...many for the better, some not so clever. A lot of people are taking a lot at face value and not looking properly at the bigger picture. That might be for another day in another thread perhaps. I'll be damned if I know how it's possible for one player to be blamed for so much. He was asked to play every style of game bar the one he's possibly best suited to. Did HE choose these roles....but he's to blame ? I think what gets up the goat of many, certainly myself is how much so many people are prepared to swallow the Koolaid. Ive made it a [particular habit to believe just about NOTHING emanating from the mouths of Footy Clubs and their folk...players and coaches/staff alike when made towards the public gallery. My old man often suggested I watch what people DO, not what they say. Action requires effort and commitment and words are a pound a ton. What I have noticed over the last couple of seasons and especially the last one are various folk blaming anyone but themselves. I like a lot of dlanders watch games both live as well as the Telly. Its not hard to actually see who makes a concerted effort on game days and who goes missing or who has their head in the clouds or up their arze !! Anyone thinking getting rid of Jack somehow solves anything has rocks in their head. I wish all parties luck and good fortune. Go Dees

A question I have never asked to this point in my life. What colour shoes do you wear with a burgundy suit? Not sure Jack has answered correctly.

It's fine it's only his 15th of the afternoon. Think they would be more upset about his suit.

They’ve probably been given 19 on the basis it’s on traded for Ablett. This will be to help GCS.

Yes, we need more blokes who can bulldoze their way through a pack and then kick it straight to an opponent. Then they can fiercely contest another ball-up in the centre circle.

All i will say is the club (despite many deelanders liking to think are amateurish specifically over the Watts scenario) are very forward thinking and post Neeld are are extremely professional. Contingency plans are in place for both options. They may not bare fruit but all options are being explored

i think I've had my say on this. i'm heading down to the Zoo to club some baby fur seals to death to make myself feel better. i'd advise people not to take their kids down there today.

Lol yeah I'm sure the Watts lovers are a fearsome bunch.

Jim Stynes was a ‘terrible trainer’ because he was carrying various injuries, including broken ribs, that never stopped him from starring in matches Please don’t compare that warhorse or a mercurial talent like Alan Jakovich with Jack Watts Absurd

Nothing to add. Just wanted to be a part of something special. (186)

Some here will know of Colin Wisbey who has a quality eye for footy and players. His detail is legendary, although I don't provide that here. Here's his rankings from 2014 prior to the draft: 1 Christian Petracca 2 Jake Lever 3 Caleb Marchbank 4 Jarrod Pickett 5 Angus Brayshaw 6 Jordan De Goey 7 Liam Duggan 8 Nakia Cockatoo 9 Patrick McCartin 10 Paul Ahern 11 Jayden Laverde 12 Jarrod Garlett 13 Blaine Boekhorst 14 Touk Miller 15 Billy Evans 16 Alex Neal-Bullen 17 Lachlan Weller 18 Hugh Goddard 19 Marc Pittonet 20 Daniel McKenzie 21 Connor Blakely 22 Sam Durdin 23 Brayden Maynard 24 Edward Vickers-Willis 25 Joe Maishman 26 Corey Ellis 27 Daniel Nielson 28 Peter Wright 29 Lukas Webb 30 Harrison Wigg 31 Tom Lamb 32 Daniel Butler 33 Jack Lonie

I disagree. I've always been a Watts supporter and defended him at times but I'm over him now and want him gone. This is totally his doing, a guy who will be 27 at the start of next season and still isn't professional in his preparation. He seems to act like he doesn't know why this is happening, which is staggering really. And I'm more disappointed than anything, as he could've been a really great player for the Dees but never got out of 2nd gear.

Petracca isn't the best performed (yet) of the class of 2014. But if there was an open market he'd still be the first one every other club would take.

Yes Jack thats right, our gameplan is handball ferociously forward until we cough it up, your tendency to kick the ball doesn't fit in to our future plans. All predominant kickers of the ball will be gone at all costs!

Jack Watts won’t survive Port Adelaide. He will get eaten alive out there but it is plain to see that Goodwin doesn’t want him anywhere near the place. I just wonder what REALLY happened. I don’t believe any of the media. Something we haven’t been privy to has happened. Goodwin has kicked him out of Victoria for picks in the 30’s!!! Next season is going to be very different.

Henry will get over it. His favourite player is Petracca. I think he thinks Petracca is part T-Rex.

My kids get it. I just told them he doesn't try hard enough. Kids don't respect lazy.

Watts. For abandoning us.

To anyone that still thinks we overpaid by trading some speculative picks out for Lever, watch his highlight reel on afl.com. http://www.afl.com.au/video/2017-10-12/get-excited-lever-flies-as-one-to-the-dees Nick Riewoldt like in his marking ability, timing and courage. There are 16 other clubs that would have killed to get him to their club. When was the last time we had someone with this marking ability the club? And dont say Jeremy Howe, sure hes good for the highlight reel when he gets a run at it but he doesn't have the courage or ability of Lever, not even close. Lever will be a champion of the game, not just the MFC.

From an Age Article by Caro. The Brisbane view was that Richmond wooed Schache and in doing so contributed to his poor form and reduced commitment. This version also dictates that former Lions coach Justin Leppitsch stayed in touch with the player once he rejoined the Tigers as an assistant coach. Further there was an allegation that Richmond subsequently lowered Schache's trade stocks by passing on stories alluding to his fragility involving a first-hand experience after the Tigers interviewed him. Richmond, in turn, angrily deny all of the above. The Tigers claim that while they interviewed Schache they lost serious interest in the player as an immediate prospect once he re-signed with the Lions. When Schache was offered around again, say the Tigers, their situation had changed. Nor were they prepared to consider the estimated minimum price tag, which, in a best-case scenario, would involve something with a three in front of it. Richmond say Brisbane have only themselves to blame. That the club failed to adequately care for Schache's welfare in his first season and did not put enough thought into his living circumstances. Even the Lions would privately admit Schache was physically exhausted at the end of 2016 and he should have been managed more conservatively in a playing sense. Still back in year one he showed signs of being the dominant forward his No.2 draft placing suggested he would become. This Article suggests misinformation from the Tigers has put other clubs off. Jonathan Brown sees a big future in the kid. Caro suggests that he could be traded for a pick in the 30's. To me that is a cheap gamble. I would take it and if it doesn't work move on. We are losing Watts and Pedo will be gone a year later. Weid might not make it and Jesse might leave in a year or two. He would be great insurance and could turn into a top 22 player anyway. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out and how he ends up in a few years.

I am okay with 30 - reluctantly - but if we are paying any of his salary regardless of where he goes I’ll be really annoyed I would love for him to decide to stay and back himself in to prove to the club that he can fulfill the obligations he has failed, but I have no faith that he will Do I think 30 is worth it? Absolutely not...but if we have to do so, in order to move forward as a club, so be it The interview where he talked about how ‘comfortable’ and ‘easy’ it has been to stay at MFC really aggravated me The speeches at the B&F summed up the sort of commitment I don’t have faith in Jack to make At the same time I can complete empathise that he feels crushed but the fact that he doesn’t seem to understand why he’s in this position is really disappointing and sort of sums the whole thing up There’s no way Port will give up the Hoff for him - that’s who they’ll want Watts to become, but the Hoff runs and works hard in a way that Watts has never really been able to do

Pick 19 for Motlop is a joke Jeelong will be celebrating tonight Jack Watts is of similiar worth, and we won’t get anywhere near 19 if a deal does get done. Jeelong, once again get the armchair ride for what they want. I am starting to REALLY hate them now, rather than just hating them...!

biffo's oven is electric. he'll just get a tan

It was Mad Monday. Goodwin had some melanotan left over from his Essendon days. It's the drug that gives you a fake tan and a three day .... erm ... let's just say something that gives you "performance". He opened the cupboard and found Watts had stolen his stash. "Jack, what did you do with my mellies?" "Your what? I thought they were eccies!" "You stupid bugger! Give 'em back!" "I can't! I don't have 'em. I sold them down the nightclub." "You what! They were my last ones!" "Sorry coach." "Hand it over." "Hand over what?" "What you got for them. Hand it over." "I can't exactly ... hand it over ..." "Listen f**ker. Whatever you got for those drugs, give it to me. Right now. Or you're out the door." "Well ... okay ...." "Well!? Hurry up!" "Alright. Undo your belt." The rest is history.

Can't remember which thread I posted it in, but I said that Steve Hocking is the new CEO Football of the AFL and the inference was that they will be looked after. I can see them jumping back in after Stringer now. They said they wouldn't give 34 to us for Watts and they clearly won't give 20 or 21. They either offer 21 to Dogs for Stringer or give 34 to Suns for Ablett and keep 20 and 21. I think the other clubs will be pretty angry about this.

Lever will start his first season with the Dees having just turned 22. Dangerfield started his first season with the Cats about to turn 26. Dangerfield was also a free agent so Cats we really doing Crows a favour by trading. Watching Crows reel to celebrate Lever's 50 milestone has me satisfied with deal. 21 year old 195 cm elite intercept marker and spoiler, plays long ie marks/spoils with arms fully extended. Has nice competitive edge. Our defence will love playing alongside Jake.

Because they're not interested?

As much as I love it, if anyone has inside info I'd prefer they don't share here. Just let the club go about their business quietly.

You don't need to watch the game again. Richmond put the ball inside forward 50 at the earliest opportunity in the first half. There was very little precision delivery. They played to their strengths never kicking to a one on one unless a bad match up was identified (Dusty vs Brown). The balls in were kicked to space or to large packs where Richmonds small forwards swarmed to the grounded contest. On all occasions Townsend did whatever it took to prevent Lever intercept marking. It was an obvious game plan and with the corridor being cut off and Rance rebounding everything the Crows back half were under seige. Dusty spent most of the first half drawing pressure from 2 to 3 players before feeding off to outside runners. The second half when the Crows were dead and Richmond had all the run is when the skills improved in terms of delivery but that was down to lack of pressure. We don't have the players in our forward 50 to play this way and Watts would be obsolete in this set up

Dr. D gives me a bit of a serial killer vibe.

He didn't have to, as he was always the one with the ball. And seriously, the 73 kg Robbie was far more courageous than the 96kg Jack has ever been. Robbie went in head over the ball, Jack doesn't. As I said I really like Jack but lets not make him it out to be what he isn't. He is a sublimely skilled footballer who plays the game on his terms. Pulling out of contests and not making footy your number 1 priority is not the Goodwin mantra.

I can't see the downside as picks are speculative at best and here is a giant of a kid who can kick goals and was pick 2 a couple of years ago and we can have him for 35. If he fails so what. We turn over a few every year anyway. If he makes it, it could be the steal of the season.

Watts Riots 1965: Watts Riots 2017: 300 × 216 - en.wikipedia.org 480 × 360 - pinterest.com

2 games is 8 points. When all the others froze and went into their shells. How about Hannans 18 quiet games.? Frosts dogs? Lewis' nonentities/stupid suspension Hogans lack of effort/nothing games Vinces' turnovers resulting in losses Tom Macs terrible days? Jetts 9-12 touch games for 7 years Gawns shockers? Petraccas cameos/disappearing act. Dysons pinpoint opportunity passes? You don't trade the most accurate set shot in the competition for a second round pick who will never win you a game.

I liked it when he won that game against Gold coast in 2016 when everyone was crap.Then that game he won against Collingwood,then ran back to save the same game. But winning is so over rated in football-it's about your effort on a Monday night and your preparation for Tuesdays training session. BTW-Jim Stynes was the worst trainer we had alongside Allen Jakovich-another pair of absolute hacks.

And?

30 + 49 for Watts + 66 values him at about pick 22 and is about best case scenario. Then 49 for Balic. Leaves us with 28, 30, 36 and 47 but only 3 list spots. We'd need to upgrade 2 of those picks to one earlier one.

Tyson was also very good in his first year with us. 2014 I think it was? I think people are writing Tyson and Salem off too quickly, they are still both only 24 & 21 respectively. And people also choose to forget that at the time our list was a shambles and we needed as many good players as we could get, not just one top 5 draft pick. People really need to get over this trade and move on.

PART TWO - OL' MAN RIVER Like the mighty Mississippi, the AFL's free agency and exchange period just kept sleepily rollin' along taking the football world on a somnolent ride to nowhere until Thursday when the draft showboat suddenly hit the rapids. Up until then, only two players (Jackson Trengove to the Western Bulldogs and Tom Rockliff to Port Adelaide) had moved to new clubs and that was via free agency but otherwise, there was absolutely no movement; the AFL's post grand final "action" was like watching the grass grow on a riverbank (except for those following the Richmond premiership medallion scandal). Things were so bad that good folks on NAB AFL Trade Radio had run out of things to talk about and they were considering playing martial music to fill the quiet spots. Then the dominoes started to fall. Jake Lever was the first, joining the Demons in exchange for pick 10 and a 2018 first round pick. Melbourne also received selection 35 and gave away a future fourth rounder as part of the deal. In no time at all, Devon Smith joined the Bombers from the Giants in return for pick 11 and a future third round pick. Essendon will get back pick 24 and a future second round selection. Late in the day, Port Adelaide's Jarman Impey was traded to Hawthorn for selection 33 in return, leaving the Hawks back in familiar territory - their current first selection in this year's draft is in the 40s. The week ended with Fremantle's Hayden Crozier moving to the Western Bulldogs on Friday in exchange for picks 40 and 82 but it was the Power that was still commanding most of the attention. Steven Motlop formally chose that club as his new home while the Cats are likely to pass on him. Port Adelaide remains the likely new home for Jack Watts. Apparently, Watts was given a hard time by the Cats when he toured their facilities and they made it clear they weren't going to part with an early second round pick for him. So how does Watts get to Port? One way might be through their ruckman Matthew Lobbe, who is reportedly seeking more game time elsewhere - possibly at one of the Queensland clubs that just happen to have early second round picks and a need for a solid ruckman. A trade involving some pick swaps might just land a three way deal. The fly in the ointment as far as Brisbane is concerned is that they have put pick 19 on the table for Adelaide's Charlie Cameron. The Crows wants the Lions’ pick 12. At week's end, Essendon is still working on deals to snare Adam Saad and Jake Stringer while Melbourne will also be looking to secure the homesick Harley Balic from the Dockers. Things are likely to warm up next week and more deals are expected to be unraveled as we move further downstream. More to come ...

Except that that message should have been IN house not spread to the press pre trade week. We just didnt handle this trade well imo...its not the end of the world and the trading guys have been great over the last few years. But we didnt handle this trade well

Houli? Martin? Cotchin? Rance? With Watts gone, Salem is the only Demon who comes anywhere near this quartet in quality and consistency of ball use. And they moved the ball into space brilliantly and lowered their eyes into attack, resisted the temptation most of the time to bomb it on to Riewoldt's head (the way that we do predictably with Hogan and, yes, Watts, under Goodwin) which would have allowed Adelaide's tall defenders to pick it off with ease. They either hit forward targets, or delivered it low and hard and into spaces when no targets were available. They were brilliantly coached, and they were encouraged by their coach to take the game on and take risks. In all the bluster about Richmond's pressure, some have totally missed their skill and their quality of ball use. If they hadn't been able to hurt Adelaide so much when they had the ball, a lot of their pressure would have been wasted, and it would have been much harder to sustain.

List update- Lumumba, Trengove, Hulett, Spencer, Kennedy, Watts* out Joel Smith upgrade, Lever, Balic* in. The Smith upgrade would be one of 3 compulsory draft picks. We have pick 28 and 35, so depending on what we get for JW, we probably won’t use pick 45 anyway. We have one rookie spot left and Corey Maynard becomes a category A rookie which means he can play round one. Did I get that right?

Since you asked so nicely ... There was absolutely no need for Goodwin & to a lesser extent Jones to talk his value down early in the piece. They gained nothing from doing it, and really messed up our capacity to negotiate a higher pick. Where was Mahoney at that time? The FD took ages to work out its narrative, and then its negotiating position, and by then it was almost too late, a lot of damage has been done. Even some "Watts needs to go" posters wondered why we were talking his value down so much. In answer to your question about "how else you can do it": how about something neutral that aims at the ball (i.e. the issue) and not the man (Watts)? Such as: "Our game next year is going to be much more focussed on contested ball. Watts has great talents, but not in the areas that our team will be moving into. We've therefore encouraged him to seek other options where his talents will be a better fit for their style of play." Pick 15, please. [P.S. My opinion (not fact) for why Goodwin & Jones were so heavy on criticising Watts initially was that they were struggling to convince the playing group of the strength of their reasons for pushing him out. I can't imagine who else the would have been trying to convince that "Watts is bad". If my opinion has any truth whatsoever, I very much doubt whether what anybody has said since would have made the slightest bit of difference. Which would be grounds for concern.]